Ave Maria
by Melda Burke
Summary: The sequel to Dark Appetite. Sarah and Alexander Anderson are in Paris, hoping for some much deserved rest and relaxation after the strife and hardship of the past year. However, something is very wrong and they will need the help of an organization even older than Hellsing; the Ave Maria, a society led by the living descendants of the legendary Nicholas Flamel.
1. Chapter 1

AN/ I do not intend to make any money off of this story nor do any of the Hellsing characters belong to me. I have to admit that the most fun part of this entire chapter was finding Russian cursewords. They are EXTREMELY creative and incredibly funny.

"It was very generous of Pip to offer to escort us to Paris." Sarah remarked to her husband, the Deacon Alexander Anderson.

He smiled and nodded his agreement. "My many missions for the Vatican have led me all over the world, but I have never been able to spend much time in France before now." He chuckled. "The smell of those rancid cheeses must keep even the most unholy monsters at bay."

She giggled, but scolded him gently. "Now, be nice. Just because you hate Blue Cheese doesn't mean you have to go ragging on the entire country!" As part of their honeymoon, Pip had agreed to escort them around Paris and give them a tour. It was his wedding gift to them, along with the plane tickets and the hotel reservations. He had paid for everything. Sarah had been speechless when he'd handed the little envelope containing the two tickets for a round trip to Paris. They would be gone for a full two weeks, which was as long as they dared to be absent. One never knew when a supernatural asshole demon-thingy would rear its ugly head and ruin a good moment.

She grimaced, remembering her wedding fiasco. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"Oh, nothing. I'm just still a bit peeved over the conclusion of the wedding. Poor Walter, too. He had to help us clean up all the bodies and he'd only just gotten to a stable state. I'm sure he wasn't feel well yet at that point." She clucked her tongue. "Still, at least he's back to normal. Well, sort of." She blinked and looked around, confused. For some reason, she felt like she was being watched. Her instincts, which she'd learned over the past year and half to listen to, were going haywire. She felt a prickling at the back of her neck and she glanced around at the other passengers. One man quickly turned his head away.

"Sarah?" Alexander followed her gaze to the man, who was sitting a coulple of rows behind and to the right of them.

She frowned and lowered her voice to a whisper. "I think that guy was staring at me."

"Well, it's rude, but it happens all the time." He said casually.

She sighed frustratedly. "No, this feels different. I don't know how to explain it, but I think I've seen him before somewhere. He's giving me this really weird feeling and making me really anxious."

"You're just now noticing this." He said skeptically. "Are you sure you're just not suffering from jet lag already?"

She bit her lip and turned her eyes away from the creepy guy to face her husband. Immediately, she felt the prickles on her neck again. "Tell me if he's looking."

He nodded. "Yes, he is. Perhaps he's just thinking you look exceptionally beautiful." He smiled in a disarmingly charming fashion. "I myself am having quite the difficulty in restraining myself from a public display of affection."

"I think the word you were looking for is a 'kiss' or perhaps a 'hug'." She replied sarcastically. "In any case, you will have to wait until we are off the plane. Also, I don't think that's what creepy dude is thinking." She whipped her head around so quickly that it hurt her neck and caught the weird man in the act of once again averting his eyes. She still had the niggling thought at the back of her mind that she recognized him from somewhere, but where had she seen him before? She went silent for a while, pondering and stewing over it.

"Maybe he just looks like someone you knew." Alexander suggested.

And suddenly it hit her and she knew who the man was! "Dimitri!" She grinnned. "Oh my gosh, that's Dimitri Beltrov!" She paused and turned around to look at him again. "What is he doing on a plane to Paris?" She asked herself quietly. She hadn't seen Dimitri since her time in Dusseldorf. He had worked in the clinic with her and she had helped him with his English. He was a young Russian man who had moved to Germany for work and they'd been great friends. Though, with everything that had happened to her, they'd lost touch. It was something that she regretted now.

"Well, that's why he's staring then." He reasoned. "He probably thought he recognized you, too, but was hesitant in the approach because he was unsure if you were actually who he thought you were."

She got up out of her seat excitedly and walked down the aisle to where Dimitri sat. "Dimitri?" She said with a huge smile. "Is that you?"

"Sarah, I thought it was you, but I couldn't be sure." His thick accent made his English hard to discern, but it was certainly better than it had been the last time they'd spoken to each other. He'd only been able to manage fragments and had had a lot of trouble with grammar, but that was understandable considering that English is one of the hardest languages to learn, if not the hardest one of all. "This is such welcome reuion. How are you, my friend?"

"I'm wonderful, actually. I'm on my honeymoon!" She announced proudly. "I was just wondering what brought you to Paris?"

"Business." He said with a trace of annoyance. "Look at me, Malenkii drook." He gestured to the very expensive suit he was wearing. "I am going to give lecture in Paris. I worked hard in years after you left me and did better in English. Promotion after promotion and here I am on my way to give this spiel on a more efficient and painless injection. I have invented injection myself for animals in great pain to give them peace."

She nodded. "Well, that's definitely a great acchievement. I know that it takes a little while for the current lethal injections to work and cutting down the time could reduce the amount of unnecessary suffering."

"Speaking of suffering," He looked at her sadly. "You left without note or call or anything. It was as if you went vanish into air like spirit."

She ran a hand through her short hair, making the already mussed curls stand up at odd angles. "Well, that's a long story..."

"I have much time." He patted the empty seat beside him. "Sit and share, Malenkii. I will listen." She did as he bade her and she began to tell him what had happened to her. Although, she obviously had to leave out some things and make up a few lies to fill in the gaps. She felt sorry for having to lie to Dimitri, but it was necessary. He reacted with shock when she told him she'd been kidnapped. He muttered a few choice words in Russian. "Golubushka, if only I had been with you..."

"No, you were gone because of your grandfather's funeral. You had no control over that, so don't get mad over it." Typically, Sarah did not like to think about the night she was kidnapped. Once she'd gotten her memories back, that was the only one she wished could have stayed forgotten. It had been a rather dismal day. A stray dog had been rescued from the side of the street after it was hit by a truck, but ultimately she'd had to put the poor thing down. Then later on, a cat was brought it with a damaged eye where it had been in a fight and she'd had to prep it for surgery. Besides that, she had to give three dogs with severe cases of mange their daily dose of medication before she locked up the kennel and headed out for the night. Her office had been warm, but outside it was cold and miserable with the occasional puddle of melted slushy water. She could still feel the chill of the wind biting through her thick coat. She passed an alley and a man lept out at her. He overpowered her and tied her up with her own shoelaces. She was still struggling, though and she tried to scream, so he pressed a cloth over her mouth and she blacked out.

The next thing she knew she was lying on a cold metal table, strapped down with only a thin white sheet covering her. The room was bare except for a trolly filled with medical instruments. Her head was fixed to the table by a metal device and an IV was stuck in her arm. Her head was throbbing from the effects of the cholorform. It was like the hangover she'd had the night of her twenty-first birthday, only much worse because her pain combined with her panic at waking up naked in an unfamiliar place had her hyperventelating. The bed was on rollers, she discovered, so if she jerked around it would move a little. She had it part way across the room, then after the third try it rolled into the area right beside the heavy metal door. Then, she heard talking and the door swung open with a bang and hit her square in the head. She'd figured out later that this injury had actually done her a good turn, not only had it affected the chip, but it had also set in motion the events which had led her to her new friends and, ultimately, to the love of her life. Thank God for heavy ass doors and people who slam them.

After hearing a thirty minute sanitized version of her kidnapping and her life afterward, Dimitri laid his hand on hers. "I am happy you have found your way out of darkness. You have always been very strong, I am proud to call you friend. Now," He smiled broadly, showing his slightly crooked teeth, "I must meet groom!"

"Ahem," Alexander coughed discreetly. They both looked up, surprised to find him standing there. He must have gotten up while they weren't paying attention. "Pleased to meet you, sir. I am Deacon Alexander Anderson, but you may call me Alexander if you wish."

"Dimitri Beltrov," They shook hands warmly. "You must take care of Golubushka, Alexander. She is handful to manage, but you look like man to do it." He eyed Alexander up and down, before nodding. "Yes, very good. You are balanced pair. I can see you are calm where I know her to be excitable and you are big where she is small. Marriage is balance, very important, Da. Each must equal out other and cancel out weakness and find strength. I wish you long and happy years together."

Sarah felt color flood her cheeks. "Thanks," She said, utterly without a response to his odd statement. She hurriedly changed the subject. "Dimitri, where are you staying in Paris? I'd like to visit you sometime if that's alright."

"But of course, Golubushka. I am being there three days and staying in The Grand Hotel De Turin-"

"You've got to be kidding me!" She exclaimed, floored by his answer. "That's where we're staying!" She couldn't believe that something like this could happen. "What floor?"

"The second," He replied in awe himself. "Room 200."

"No way, this is ridiculous..." She told him. "We're in room 201."

They laughed aloud at this strange circumstance. "I expect visit daily." He joked. "We have much to catch up on."

"I can't wait, it's really been too long." She beamed at him. They spent the next few hours talking about old times and their past exploits. Alexander had seated himself in the empty seat across the aisle from them and listened politely to their chatter. Apparently, Sarah had had many adventures that she'd not told him about. One of those adventures included the Autobahn, a very unhapy duck, a jar of peanut butter, and a very nice biker gang. "And, do you remember what the duck did?" She snickered from behind her hand.

"How could I forget it? I had to scrub peanut butter out of hair for long time!" He chuckled along with her. "We smelled very badly that day."

"That was your fault. You were the one who didn't adjust the lid of that take-out food properly. At least the bikers were sporting about being splattered with seafood and sweet and sour sauce."

"Cop was not pleased." He reminded her.

"We made him laugh, though." She retorted. "He couldn't keep a straight face after the towtruck came. I think that it was the duck with its head stuck in the jar that finally did it."

"Duck should not have been rooting around in garbage." Dimitri rolled his eyes. "Who leaves half-full jar near a pond? Zalupa!"

"Watch the language." She jested, tapping his forearm. "That's what got us in trouble with the Weird Hat Lady." And such was the conversation that amused Alexander over the next few hours. The nine hour flight was thusly colored by the past exploits of the newly reunited friends as they made up for lost time. He made several notes to get the full stories out of her later to appreciate the true entertainment value.

The trio hailed a cab together that evening after their arrival. There was no reason to split up after all when their destination was the same. Pip, who had gone home a week earlier, had called to let them know he'd be outside of the hotel in the morning to give them their personal tour. Sarah's eyes were dancing with a delighted light when she ended the call. "He promised to bring us to all the tourist traps and I can't wait to see the Musee de Louvre and we're going to have lunch in the restaurant where Nicholas Flamel used to live! It's the oldest house in Paris! I'm so excited." She was literally bouncing in her seat with glee. Alexander couldn't find much excitement in that particular aspect of the tour, but he was eager to see the beautiful and famous Notre Dame Cathedral. Two weeks seemed barely enough time to fully enjoy the splendors of the city, but they would try their hardest to experience as much as they could.

That night when he settled down to sleep in their hotel room, he would think how nice it was to have a break from all of the chaos and simply enjoy a bit of quiet sight-seeing. Well, unbenownst to him or Sarah, there was much more than fine dining and sight-seeing in store for them in Paris, France. A darker, more sinister force was mounting behind the scenes and just waiting for the chance to make itself known.


	2. Chapter 2

AN/ I own nothing and I will never make any money off of this story!

A tall thin woman watched her quarry attentively from behind dark sunglasses. There were three of them, two from the British organization of Hellsing and one from the Italian base of Section XIII, otherwise known as Iscariot. She pretended to read over her copy of a bedraggled fashion magazine, but kept her gaze fixed upon the trio.

What were they doing here in Paris? The Ave Maria had always kept close tabs on all of the organizations in the world and were even privy to the knowledge of their members' identities. Although, from her experience each organization was unaware of more than a couple of others and besides that were typically at war over petty territorial matters. Organizations for protecting humanity from the supernatural were globally prevalent. Eldest were the Masons, whose order was diminished after crusades and whose members had now scattered throughout the world, but were somewhat weakly regrouped in America. Still they were a force to be reckoned with and she knew for a fact that she would not want to go up against the legendary Mason George Stephen, whose ability with a handgun was renown, but it was sharp mind that had cut down more enemies than had his well-placed bullets.

Ave Maria was second oldest. It had been founded in the fifteenth century following the death of Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel, not by blood-related descendants for they were barren, but by their godson, who was the son of a poor man that the couple had assisted in some way. His family became the guardian of the copy of an ancient text called the book of Abramlin the Maege, which was a compendium of the weakness of every evil demon, fairy, et cetera that plagued human kind. Iscariot came afterward in the sixteenth century, though it hadn't been very powerful until recently. Next would be Hellsing, which was founded in the nineteenth century by Abraham Van Hellsing who captured the vampire king Dracula and by unknown means turned the monster into a slave. Finally, the Romanov Association in Russia was created in the twentieth century by the single surviving member of the Russian royal family; Anastasia, whose life had been utterly destroyed by the monstrous Rasputin, the wandering charismatic fanatic who had been under the influence of a rather minor demon named Melkavis. Melkavis had viewed the manipulation as a mere game, but his game was put to a grisly end after Anastasia took her revenge. Many stories were told about how Rasputin finally met his end, all of them very interesting and none of them true. He was simply taking a meal by the river and Anastasia came up behind him and pushed him in. It was wintertime and he died of exposure, his body later to be dredged out of the water some days afterward. However, Melkavis was upset at having his game overturned and he attacked and possessed Anastasia, causing her terrible pain, but she sought the help of a unnamed priest who exorcised and thusly destroyed Melkavis. After her experience, Anastasia was determined that the world be free of such creatures. Long story short, she mascaraed as a man for a few years, did a bit of scholarly research and taught a few others how to fight demons and other beings. Now her order survived into the twenty-first century and it was made up of more than just scholars waving crucifixes around. The Russian top agent Dimitri Beltrov, who also happened to be in Paris at the moment, was said to be well-versed in several martial arts. It was even rumored that he wore no protection when he fought and that he had been trained by the famous Iron Fist of China Pan Qing Fu. Finally, the least known of the organizations was the Tongue of Kali, situated in India. They kept to themselves and information was scarcely leaked, so even knowledge of their existence was a miracle.

Her hand tightened around her cup of coffee. Hellsing and Iscariot had been at odds for decades, why were they now seemingly working together? She'd gotten wind of rumors of a sort of peace treaty two weeks ago, but the mere idea of it made her want to laugh. Protestant and Catholic went together like oil and water, only with a lot more bloodshed. Yet, not even twenty feet from her was the evidence, snapping pictures like a bunch of silly tourists on vacation. She watched them pay and leave. After a few seconds, she did the same. The street was not so crowded or even very noisy today, so it was easy to follow at a distance and still hear what they were saying. The snatches of conversation were absurd.

"His tombstone isn't that far from here." Sarah said, eager to get on with things. After a small while, they arrived at the tombstone, which was engraved with images of Christ, St. Peter, and St. Paul. It was weathered and indistinct, like the Latin inscription at his former home, but still quite beautiful. The best part was that it was not roped off and they could approach to see it in detail.

"He was a humanitarian," Alexander said with approval. "A wonderful example of the Catholic faith can be found in his history."

"I thought that he bored you." She teased, her eyes twinkling.

"On the contrary, I was just more interested in Notre Dame than in a half-forgotten man shrouded in the mists of time." He informed her with a bit of snark. "So, now we've seen your Flamel. We still have time to make it to the Cathedral. Tomorrow we can see the Arc de Triumph, have lunch with a view of the Seine and then enjoy the rest of the afternoon and evening relaxing. The hotel has a pool, you know." He hinted strongly. "I enjoy pools."

"Uh-huh." She raised an eyebrow. "Whatever you say, Alexander. Just remember that I promised Dimitri we would have dinner with him tomorrow."

"But of course, however, you're going to have to tell me about some of those...er...adventures you were talking about with him earlier."

"Are you sure you can handle that?" She smirked.

"Quiet, Cherie." Pip shushed her suddenly. She looked at him and his face had hardened. "We have company." He reached up to seemingly adjust his hat, but subtly pointed with his pinkie towards a tall lady staring at them. "She followed us from the restaurant, I'm sure of it." His hand went to his side where his gun was hidden beneath his leather jacket. "She was staring hard at us then, too."

"I wonder what she wants?" Sarah whispered back to him.

"Let's find out." Alexander strode purposefully towards the stranger. "Stay behind me." He told the both of them. The mystery woman no longer even tried to pretend to be part of the crowd, she realized she had been spotted. She removed her sunglasses, her eyes were cold and calculating as the measured up the older man. "Who are you and what do you want?" Alexander demanded with authority.

"I want answers, the same as you." She came closer. "I want to know what Hellsing and Iscariot agents are doing _together_ in the territory of the Ave Maria." Her eyes flashed. "As for my name, I am Marie Cessna, top agent of the Ave Maria. I already know all of you by name and reputation, Deacon Anderson, so don't bother yourself with introduction." Her eyes wandered over to Sarah and Pip. "Compared to you, these two are but green thorns, but I have heard of a rather recent exploit with some Lamia. Good job, both of you. It was rather sloppily handled, but you got the job done."

"I still feel insulted." Sarah muttered under her breath. After all, she'd led the 'sloppily handled' job herself.

"I've never heard of Ave Maria." He replied carefully, studying her. She was telling the truth, her body language would have told him if she were lying.

She tossed her head proudly. "Yes, I know you wouldn't have. Neither would Hellsing, I'd wager. Both of your organizations have always been very self-obsessed. Ave Maria is older than Hellsing, around six hundred years old. A little bit older than Iscariot, even." That hit a nerve with him, but he didn't allow it to show. "We are the living descendant of Nicholas Flamel, dedicated to the teachings that lie in the book of Abramlin the Maege, wherein is the knowledge to destroy all known evil entities in the world." She smiled, her teeth glinting in the summer sun. "A twenty-one page manual to a supernatural genocide."

"I see." Alexander glanced back over his shoulder. Sarah and Pip appeared flabbergasted by the news. "Are there others besides Ave Maria?"

"Many." She remarked. "Though we are aware of only the largest and most organized. In total, there are six scattered around the globe. Humanity has always needed protection from the darkness. Societies, organizations, sects like Hellsing, Iscariot, and Ave Maria all fight for the same side with few differences." She crossed her arms. "Which is why we view your petty religious feud with Hellsing with a great deal of amusement. It's a sort of sibling rivalry, you could say. We were hoping we wouldn't have to intervene to keep you from destroying each other. The last time such a battle happened, it nearly destroyed a very old and very important society called the Masons. Thankfully, the Masonic order has survived in America, but they will never be so great as they were before the ill-fated Crusades."

"Thanks for the history lesson," He said grimly. "We'll keep it in mind. However, you'll be glad to know that the quarrel between Hellsing and Iscariot has been laid to rest for now."

"I had heard rumors," She admitted. "May it stay buried." She tapped her foot. "Now, what are you doing in Paris?"

"We're on vacation." Sarah informed her. "You've been chasing tourists, really brilliant move, I'd say. Absolutely genius."

Marie glared at her. "I dislike your attitude."

"Well, I'm not a big fan of yours either, cupcake. I don't hold with arrogance." She remarked with a sneer.

"That's enough." Pip interrupted, moving in between them. He looked at Marie. "Why are you acting so touchy about foreign agents, eh?"

Marie's expression turned dark and her head dropped just a little. "There has been...trouble. Nothing we couldn't handle!" She added quickly.

"Well, that's delightfully vague." Sarah said with no small amount of sarcasm.

Marie shot her a warning look, but went on to elaborate. "People have been disappearing and we've been having trouble with several cases of minor demonic possession. Also, there have been sightings of creatures. Creatures that have never ventured into France before. Things like kappas in the Seine, Aswangs, and there was even a fucking Abada prancing down Rue Biot!"

"What's an Abada?" Sarah asked.

"Think of it as a mini-unicorn. And before you laugh, the thing likes just as much as its European cousin to gut its victims and feast on their flesh." She shuddered visibly. "Nasty pieces of work. Anyway, there's more things like that coming it. African vampires, American Wendigo spirits, Greek and Roman demons, they're all migrating to France. We fear that we'll be overrun."

"Do you know why this is happening?"

"Army is being gathered." Dimitri, who had approached without a sound, came up behind Marie. "I do not speak for my friends, but I was sent here to investigate your problems."

"Dimitri, you're...wait, what...?" Sarah looked extremely confused.

"Please, I intended to tell you soon. I have known you to be part of Hellsing only since this morning." He held up his phone. "An update from my boss. It seems our meeting was not chance after all, Golubushka.

"How did you find us?" She inquired earnestly.

"Well, you told me where you planned on going. Second, I had some help." He held out his hand, which held a biscuit. "Grandfather Domovoi?" Sarah watched in shock as a cat clambered out of her backpack, then transformed into an ugly little bearded old man. He hobbled over and took the biscuit, which he began to greedily devour. "He has been keeping eye on you. I sent him with you for protection, but he is handy for other things, too."

"I thought house spirits couldn't leave the home they are attached to." Marie said with awe. "How did you get him to leave?"

"I am favorite family member." Dimitri shrugged. "He follows when I leave home and guards my hotel room. Thank you, Grandfather Domovoi." The Domovoi said something back in gruff Russian to which Dimitri replied in kind, then returned to cat form, then took off down the street. "He will go now back to hotel. I have been asking him to do the same for your room as well." He said to Sarah with a smile. "He is very loyal, do not worry."

Sarah shook her head. "Okay, so let me get this straight. There's a bunch of people like Hellsing skipping through fields of posies and cheerfully .blowing the heads off of evil creepy things. Not only that, but all of these other people are aware of each other's existence except for Hellsing and Iscariot who were in the dark because we're so full of ourselves." Marie nodded. "On top of all that, we've got a bunch of evil creepy things invading the happy country of France for one conceivable reason, to start an all out war on humanity."

"That is essentially correct." Marie agreed.

"Right," Sarah sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Just so we all understand, this is shit. This is the biggest pile of shitty shit that ever was shat."

"I'd be inclined to agree with you." Pip grinned.


	3. Chapter 3

"If the situation is really so serious," Alexander said to Marie. "Why haven't you made an attempt at contacting the other organizations?" They were now back at the hotel room where they could discuss matters privately.

"Ave Maria is a very private society. We keep an eye on other organizations, but do not interfere in their territory. We only ask that they do the same." She took a sip of tea. "However, when push comes to shove, we do lack the manpower for this sort of confrontation."

"An army to fight an army." Sarah suggested.

Marie nodded. "Exactly, so our hand may be forced in this instance to call together those who will come." She rose to address them all. "I must get permission to do so, but it would be prudent for each of you to talk to your respective Heads and make them aware of the dire need for such a thing here in France. Then, if we can persuade bring in all the men they can afford, then we may try to get the attention of the Masons in America. I highly doubt The Tongue of Kali in India will be of any help, they are even more reserved than Ave Maria."

"We should still try." Pip beseeched her. "I will not standby and let my homeland be destroyed. If I must go to India and seek them out myself, I will do so!"

She blinked, surprised by his display. "We could easily arrange it." She informed him. "It may be a fruitless endeavor, I warn you."

"I do not care," Pip grinned. "It's the least I can do for my country."

Sarah tugged on his sleeve. "You might want to talk to Sir Integra before you go hopping on a plane to India."

He looked a bit sheepish. "Oui, I suppose you are right."

Alexander place his hand on Sarah's shoulder. "I guess we must cut our honeymoon short."

Sarah's smile was absolutely terrifying to behold. "I will send them to the deepest pits of hell!" And then she went off in search of her cell phone to break the news to Sir Integra.

Alexander followed behind, chuckling at his mad, bloodthirsty wife. "Save some for me, my love."

"Is she always this..." Marie struggled for words.

"Vengeful?" Pip laughed. "Only sometimes."

"I see." Marie said quietly. She wondered exactly what she had gotten herself into. These people were insane! She glanced at Dimitri, who had been silent during the entire exchange. He caught her staring and she quickly looked away.

He was dialing a number on his phone when she dared to look up again. He began speaking in rapidfire Russian. She gathered that he was talking to a superior or someone of the like. Pip, who was between phones at the moment, pulled a book out of his pocket and started reading from a marked page. Marie decided it was high time that she made a report to her peers, so she took her cell phone into the kitchen where she would not disturb the other two.

~H_E_L_L_S_I_N_G~

"Alucard, stop it!" Seras pleaded. "You're going to hurt him."

"Please," Moaned Elazar, who was out of breath and wheezing.

"Oh, fine." Alucard stopped his tickle torture of Elazar. "You never agree with my way of babysitting." He accused. "I tried to take him out on a mission with me so that he could enjoy the river of blood and pain that flows in my wake, but noooooo... That was too much for him!" He took on a falsetto. "'I'm Seras and I think that violence and gore are bad for children'. Hah! When I was his age, I was exposed to twice as much violence and I turned out just fine! Sure, I'm a bit sadistic, but I'm a lovable guy-"

"You've got to be kidding me..." Seras shook her head. "You're worse than a child."

"-And now you say I can't tickle him into submission? What sort of things are they teaching children nowadays? This is why they have no respect for their elders. I remember when-

"He's talking about 'the good ol' days, again. Good lord," She facepalmed. "I hate it when you act like an old man."

"I AM old, in case you've forgotten." He snapped.

"Ahem, I hate to interrupt your lively discussion, but Sir Integra would like to see both of you in her office right away." Walter bowed to them both. "Come along, Elazar. You need to get ready for bed."

Sir Integra was looking slightly more agitated than usual. She frowned at them when they came in. "There's going to be a war in France." She said bluntly. "Sarah and Anderson have just sent word to me." She proceeded to tell them everything that Sarah had told here, including what Sarah had learned from Marie about the other organizations. Alucard didn't appear surprised at all. He'd figured out a long time ago that Hellsing and Iscariot were not the only ones.

"That actually makes sense," Seras commented when Sir Integra had finished. "But we don't have many soldiers to spare, either. We wouldn't be much help, would we?"

"Alucard is an army unto himself." Integra retorted.

"I do believe that is the nicest thing you've ever said to me." He smirked, his eyes twinkling with the idea of gleeful slaughter. "Let's squash the invaders like bugs under your thumb. I am your thumb, Master, do whatever you will as I am merely an extension of your hand. A digit solely-"

"I'm really getting tired of your metaphors, servant." She snapped, causing Seras to giggle and him to grin. "Now, we have no choice. We cannot allow these monsters to conquer France, because after France is Europe, and after Europe is the world. This cannot go on."

"But, Sir Integra-" Seras began.

"Gather together the Wild Geese and the new recruits." She hesitated a moment and her fists bunched. Integra was obviously caught up in an internal dilemma. "And take Walter and Elazar, too." She ground her teeth together. Seras glanced at Alucard, whose face had become unreadable. This must be a hard decision for Sir Integra to make, she thought, sending out a little boy and an ex-traitor into the field. It was a desperate move. She sighed to herself. They were all so tired of fighting, would it ever end?

"Are you sure that Elazar is ready for a mission? He's barely nine years old!" She bit her lip out of nervous habit.

"He's tough and, while it is diluted and weak, my blood runs through his veins. The blood of my human family has always produced strong warriors at an early age." Alucard's eyes were distant. "Walter will hold his own. His young body is more stable now. The chip's control over him is completely destroyed, but he remains stuck at that point of youth where he was at his peak form. Perhaps he is trapped that way forever now, it is of no concern. We need not worry about the Angel of Death."

Sir Integra considered this. She understood that she had no other choice, but it was still incredibly difficult. Her trust and love for her butler had been shattered, she was not even sure if it could ever be re-built, but letting him represent her in this war would be a step. A vital step that could lead her towards perhaps forging that relationship once again. She closed her eyes, but immediately opened them. She would not show weakness in front of her servant! Her decision was made. "Fine, then. Seras, Alucard, go to France and assist Sarah and Anderson in any way necessary. You will depart with everyone you can find, leave only a few behind to protect this mansion."

"Yes, ma'am." Seras saluted her commander. She put away her feelings on the matter in favor of the task she was given. "Oh, and Seras?" She looked back at Sir Integra. "I have been thinking this over for a while and I cannot allow for a mistake like Sarah's in Ireland to go unpunished. You will be in charge of the mission this time, let her know that she's been demoted."

Early the next morning, two hundred and fifty men and women were flown into France via a pair of private jets. On board the first one to take off were Alucard, Walter, Seras, and Elazar. Elazar had his face pressed up against the window, listening eagerly to Walter who was spouting off random airplane facts. Seras and Alucard were asleep in special chambers built into the farthest end of the cabin.

"Walter," Elazar sat back down on his chair. "I really want to go on this mission and I'm really happy I'll get to help Sarah and Alex, but...can you keep a secret?"

"Of course." Walter nodded seriously. "What is it?"

"I..I'm scared." Elazar mumbled, his eyes dull with shame.

"Elazar, fear is perfectly normal." Walter told him reassuringly. "In fact, the best sort of bravery is the kind inspired by fear."

"I don't understand."

"Take Alucard for instance." Walter's face was caught in shadow for a mere moment. "He is what he is because he was afraid. He built an empire out of his fear. Fear makes us cautious and cautious men live longer. Only fools rush into battle."

"What about Seras?"

"Seras, too. She's a vampire because she was afraid to die. She's now so much more than she was before. Her fear has forced her to develop her self-confidence and given her the ability to deal with her morbid past. She has gotten through a great deal of pain because of fear. Her fear has taught her many valuable lessons."

Elazar's mouth scrunched up. "Oh, but what about Sarah? She isn't scared of anything!"

"But she is." Walter smiled. "She's afraid for you, haven't you noticed? She takes care of you when you're sick or when you've got a cut because she worries about you. She's afraid something bad could happen to you." He did not mention that Sarah would probably vehemently protest her adopted son's involvement in this fourth war. What a burden to lay upon a child! "She's afraid that she hasn't helped me enough. I can tell when I catch her staring that she's afraid I'll turn back into the monster I was before we knew each other."

Elazar, who had only rudimentary knowledge of what Walter had done before he knew him, had a hard time imagining the kind man as ever being a monster. "Oh, is she afraid for Alex, too? And is Alex afraid?"

"They fear for each other, yes. They understand the risks of what they do, so they are intimately acquainted with the tragedy it brings. I don't believe Sarah will ever forgive herself for what happened in Ireland. Anderson fears for Sarah's life and for yours and for the life of the children of his orphanage in Italy, and for the future of the Church. It is what inspires him to use his own strength to protect them."

"I think I get it now, sorta." Elazar said after a minute. "Everyone's afraid of something. And that's a good thing, sometimes."

"Fear makes us human, just as does any other emotion." Walter nodded.

"I'm not so scared anymore, Walter." Elazar said finally.

~H_E_L_L_S_I_N_G~

Sarah was about to have a heart attack, when Seras had called her back to let her know that Elazar was coming with them, she was livid. Her boss had every right to send Elazar out, but good God, what was the woman thinking? Elazar was a child and he'd had less training than even Sarah had! Her demotion came as expected. She'd been confused as to Integra's initial brushing off the incident, but then she came to the conclusion than Integra had been waiting until an opportunity came up after the wedding to punish her, which was considerate she had to admit. She was pacing the length of their hotel room like a caged animal. She checked her watch. They would be landing soon, but soon wasn't soon enough.

"What's wrong with her?" Marie frowned at Sarah, who was making the Frenchwoman nervous.

"She's worried about her son, I think." Pip replied in a hushed voice. "Her boss is sending him over to fight with us, which is perfectly within her rights, but he's a still a young boy."

"How young?" She scoffed. "I have been fighting since I was thirteen."

Pip crossed his arms. "He's nine."

Her eyes widened. "That's scandalous! What kind of a person would-"

"A desperate one. Still, Elazar has an advantage. Perhaps you have heard of werewolves?"

She appeared shaken. "I thought they were extinct. Long ago, they were eliminated by the very one you now call Alucard."

"Well, obviously not. Some must have survived because Elazar is the second werewolf Hellsing has encountered."

"Werewolfism has to be passed on by blood, so is she..." Her eyes went to Sarah.

"No, he is adopted. His biological mother is dead. Sarah is just as human as you or I."

Dimitri followed this conversation from his place in the armchair. So, Sarah had a son? Well, that was certainly different. He'd always thought she was too erratic to be a parent, but people change. He'd definitely changed over the years, so who was he to judge? He made both Pip and Marie jump when he spoke. "Tomorrow, RAs will be flying into France. There are seven hundred."

Marie was impressed. "You must have pulled a lot of strings, that's more than half the fighting force of the Romanov Association."

Dimitri smiled. "Many people owe me favors, this is time to collect."

Marie's phone buzzed and she looked over the short message. "The Ave Marie's contribution is four hundred seventy-three." Her phone buzzed again, this time the response was to her question for permission to inquire about the other organizations. "And I should go make a few phone calls." She headed back into the kitchen.

The rest of the day was spent in a similar manner. Everyone was busy reporting and recieving reports. It was quite the ordeal to go through, after all with so many agents coming to the call. The Ave Marie had yet to hear from the Masonic Order in America, but the order had not given an outright negative answer, so the hope was that they would participate.

Sir Integra was again on the line with Sarah. This time it was to give her permission for Pip's necessary trip to India in an attempt to contact the Tongue of Kali. However, she requested that Sarah to accompany him so that he may have backup during his parley as well as technical assistance. "I would like to go as well." Marie said. "I am fluent in Hindi and I have a rough idea of where the Tongue of Kali's temple may be."

"We could use your intelligence." Assented Sarah, though she did not like the idea of being stuck with the arrogant woman. Although, she did muster a grudging respect that Marie had mastered Hindi, which was one of the languages that Sarah was aspiring to learn. "But shouldn't you be here to meet your troops?"

"I am a minor agent, I am not in charge of anyone. I only gave the report and so they will come. I do not expect that they will care what I do beyond that. Unlike Hellsing, Ave Maria does not lord over our members." Her fingers were moving over her phone's buttons rapidly as she spoke. "I merely have to truthfully report back what I plan to do and why. Certain actions may require permission, but otherwise we do as we each see fit."

"Sounds a bit unorganized to me." Mumbled Sarah as she pocketed her own phone.

"Sarah, Elazar and the others have just landed." Alexander came out from the bedroom. "I gave them our location and they will be here shortly."

Sarah bit her lip and her heart dropped. A pain in her hand made her looked down and realize that her nails were cutting into her palms. Four little cresents were welling up with drops of blood. He caught her hands up in his own. "It will be alright. I will protect our son."

"Our son," She closed her eyes and she felt a tear escape down her cheek. "Why do things have to be like this? Where is God, Alexander? Where is God when a little boy has to fight monsters?"

"He is with us," He replied piously. "With you, with me, and with Elazar. We will persevere and honor Him by ridding the world of these foul, inhuman beasts. As a family, we will fight as instruments of His will. Be strong, Sarah. Take courage in that knowledge."

"I'm so afraid, Alexander." Marie, Pip, and Dimitri edged into the kitchen together, feeling as if they were intruding on something very private. "I want to stay here with you and make sure that you are both safe. I would fight to my final breath for you and our son, but I-"

"It will be alright." He cradled her in his arms, though his heart was also dark with fears and doubts. "Trust me."

"Alexander, I love you so, so much." She sobbed into his chest. "If I hadn't acted so stupid and stand-offish in Ireland, I could have stayed. People wouldn't have to die!"

"Don't blame yourself!" His voice caught in his throat. "And no one has died, not yet. It does not one spot of good to lingure over 'if'. Listen to me, love. We don't have time for this. Buck up and take this in stride like you do everything else. I love you, too. I promise, no, I swear to you that neither Elazar nor I will enter the fray until you're back here with us."

"It won't make any difference..."

"But it will." He insisted. "We will fight or die as a family." He hugged her tight to him. "When are you leaving for India?"

"The flight is set for eight am tomorrow." Her voice was muffled and sounded a bit congested, but she'd stopped crying at least.

"How long...?"

"Maybe a week or two and at the most a month. However long it takes to find the Tongue of Kali, I suppose. Marie thinks she knows where they are, but I think she's full of shit."

"There she is." He tilted her chin up, smiling. "There's the woman I fell in love with." He kissed her forehead.

"It will take some time for everything to get set up." They looked up to find Dimitri had re-entered the room. His hands were behind his back and his face was grim. "There will be no major fighting until at least a week from now."

"That's another problem." Sarah wiped her arm across her face, clearing away the tears. She was all business now. "We can't fight a war in the middle of Paris! And what are we going to be fighting? Pockets of creatures here and there? Or is this a real army? Are they assembling under some sort of unified banner? I don't understand, most of those monstrocities would only be willing to fight for themselves."

Dimitri and Marie glanced at one another. "I recieved this a minute ago from one of my fellow agents. It was burned into the flesh of a kelpie that she killed near the headwaters of the Sein." A very dark and grainy picture showed a dead and slimy thing lying on stone-lined river bank. Its skin was dark purple, nearly irredescent, which is what made the mark on its side stand out. The scar tissue was stark white. The design was something terrifyingly familiar. A crow caught in mid-flight inside a circle.

"The Black Crow..." Sarah's hand went to her mouth as she gasped.

"You were right, Sarah." Pip took a look at the picture. "There was more to those people than what we originally thought. Maybe the Lamia were just the begining. I do not think that the members of the Black Crow are human at all."

"Demons?" Marie suggested. "They are the most powerful of all evil supernatural entities. It would make sense if they were at the heart of all of this."

"Then they _are_ organized." Alexander's eyes were hidden by the glare on his glasses. "We must find some way to negotiate with them, then. I would be last person to suggest compromise with a demon, but I will not let innocent blood be spilt. We could encourage them to find a deserted area to fight it out."

"First London, now Paris." Pip said softly. "I can't allow Paris to end up as London did, the epicenter of Hell on earth. We will not fight in Paris." He said firmly.

Marie nodded. "Demons are greedy, I do not believe they will want to destroy Paris just yet, they will want the spoils. Slaves, riches, food, et cetera. This is probably just a ploy to get our attention. They wouldn't want to creat wanton destruction until there is a sure victory, simply to preserve such things. What good is it to kill your future slaves or destroy your future palace? Demons are cunning in this way and not simple beasts as we are used to fighting."

"How will we send this message through, though?" Sarah asked.

Marie appeared stumped. "Er...I am unsure."

Pip suddenly brightened. "Fireworks!"

"That's actually sort of brilliant, but aren't people going to question that?" Marie gave him a strange look.

"No, no. Think about it, " Sarah piped up. "He's right. It's perfect. We'd just have to use symbols. No one else besides our enemies would understand." She grabbed a pad of paper from beside the desklamp and scribbled on it before showing it to everyone else. It showed the Black Crow's symbol, the letters H, A, R, and M in a box, followed by a cross, and a one followed by PM. "We will send them this. I am sure they will figure it out."

"I hope they can because I have no idea what that means." Pip squinted at it. "Why the cross?"

"What is the most famous religious landmark in Paris?" She asked her husband, smiling.

"Notre Dame..." He answered. "That's brilliant, we would have advantage. Demons are weaker on holy ground, the lesser ones cannot step foot on it at all. Besides that, most are weakest at one in the afternoon." Demons, typically, went through stages during the day of waxing and waning power. These usually differed between indivduals, but the general rule was that, hour to hour, starting at six am, they would have an hour of great power, then an hour of great weakness, followed by three hours of rest. This cycle would repeat until the sun set. During the night, a demon would be of average strength.

"That settles it then. We will attempt to meet with them in front of Notre Dame." Marie took the note off of the pad. "Now, we just have to get these custom made somewhere."

"I think that will be the easiest part of all of this." Alexander sat down on the couch with a heavy sigh. He reached for the remote when the door burst open and he was pounced upon by his very excited adopted son.

"Alex!" Elazar yelled out happily.

Seras followed him shyly. She approached Sarah with her head down. "Sarah, hey..." She was afraid of how her friend would react.

"Congratulations, Seras." Sarah smiled up at her. "You deserve to be in charge more than I do." She saluted the No-Life Queen. "At your service."

Seras laughed. "At ease, soldier."

"What a terrific reunion." Alexander shot to his feet to face Alucard down. They glared at each other. "Calm your tits, Judas Priest." He growled at his former nemisis. "I'm just here to chill with the homies, yo."

"He's been trying to learn modern vernacular." Seras whispered to Sarah as they both tried to restrain their giggles. "What the hell he thinks it'll accomplish, I have no idea." She shook her head. "Personally, I think he's just trying, like always, to fuck with us."

Even Alexander looked confused. "I..erm...what?"

"Fo'shizzle my nizzle, Priest dawg. You know what I'm sayin'? Fuck bitches, get money."

"You're embarassing." Seras facepalmed. "There's no need to talk like a gangster. I don't understand you."

"Don't hate the player, hate the game." Was Alucard's grinning response.

"What is going on here?" Marie asked with a hoplessly lost look.

Alucard smirked at Seras. "My seduction is at control art level 0."

"And just like that, I think I'm going to go to bed early." Sarah announced.

"Sarah, what does 'seduction' mean?" Elazar asked, to which Sarah replied with a groan and a glare in Alucard's direction.

Fortunately, Walter swooped in just in time to avoid that particular question and led Elazar, protesting, out the door."Our room is two floors up. If you have need of us, you may call at any time." Walter said politely from the hallway.

Alucard and Seras remained there, one grinning and the other fidgeting. "So you're going to India, then?" Seras said finally to break the silence.

"I have to, don't I?" Sarah sighed, putting one hand to her forehead. She was beginning to feel the faint pounding of a headache. "Seras, Pip, Marie, and I are going to be pretty busy over the next couple of weeks. I don't think we're going to have reception or even access to the internet. If we don't make it back, then I want you to...I want you to help Alexander."

Her husband stiffened. "Absolutely not. I cannot allow-"

"Alexander, for God's sake, please." Sarah begged. He eyed Seras with a great deal of mistrust and anxiety. Sarah shook her head. "It's just a precaution, please. She has secondary guardianship, in any case. It's the logical stance, so for a moment I'm asking you to lay aside your disgust. Your hatred is not unjustified considering the things that vampires are capable of, but if anything trust that Sir Integra is able to control Seras or Alucard if the need arises." She understood his skepticism. "By all means, if Seras or Alucard reach out to harm our son, then do your worst, but until then I'd like a peace, even if it is an uneasy one. You don't have trust them, but as Seras' friend, I do."

"Your argument is no more or less valid than mine." He lowered his bayonet, which had formerly been aimed in Seras' direction. He let out a long breath and was silent for a few heartbeats. "Aye, then. We'll keep the peace." He said roughly. "For now." He added with a sharp look at Alucard, who shrugged it off.

"Thank you."


	4. Chapter 4

The fireworks message was to be sent up as soon as Sarah, Pip and Marie returned from India. In the meantime, Alexander, Alucard and the rest would be manning the head of the operation in France. Their job was to handle operatives incoming from the outside and stockpile supplies and order in extra ammunition besides what was being shipped in by the organizations. A war is a potluck and that was never more obvious than when help began to arrive.

That morning was chaotic as Sarah rushed about seeing to last minute things. The Ave Maria had generously provided their own landing strip and private plane for the trip, already stockpiled with everything they could possibly need in any situation. The plane was built for stealth and would evade radar detection. That would not help, though, if they were caught unloading.

"I cannot say for sure," Marie grunted as she shoved her personal bag in with the rest of the cargo."where the Tongue of Kali may be, but we have reason to suspect that they reside on the Eastern summit of Nanda Devi."

"What reason is that?" Sarah asked, climbing aboard behind the Frenchwoman.

"The Nanda Devi East and Nanda Devi West are supposed to be the twin peaks of the goddess Nanda. It is holiest mountain in the Himalayan Mountain chain. There is a sanctuary there and we believe that is secretly the base of the Tongue of Kali." She answered. "Like the Celtic mythos, goddesses often come in triple aspects or even nine aspects. Kali is an aspect of Parvati, the daughter of Himavan, the hindu god of the Himalayans."

"I never really got the chance to delve into Hinduism much." Sarah said with a bit of regret. "I think I'll read about it when I get back. It sounds fascinating."

Marie fiddled with her portable radio. "Yes, it is." She said quietly, her concentration focused on the object in her hands. They both jumped as a suitcase was pitched in the open side of the plane and landed just between them. Pip hopped in shortly thereafter. "You could have hit us!" She cursed at him in French, which only made him grin.

"Could have, Cherie. But I didn't." He made himself comfortable between them. "So, when are we supposed to actually lea-"

He was cut off by a rough, loud burst of static over the radio in Marie's lap. "Runway 2, cleared for take off. Proceed number 86, over." They heard their pilot respond. "Roger, base 2. Proceeding. Over."

"Well, I guess that answers my question." He said, looking at the radio with interest. "But what are you bringing that along for?"

"Basic spying gear." She said with a self-satisfied smirk. "As yet, there is no widespread way to keep radio traffic from being overheard, so this is useful in case somebody spots us and uses their own radio to communicate it back to their base." She twisted the dial a little and a blast of Bret Micheals came through the speakers. She grinned widely and hummed along. "Also," Her ice-cold blue eyes melted for just a second. "It has good music stations."

They all gave a start as the plane lurched forward. Pip reached down and firmly pulled the sideways hatch closed with a slam. "I suppose we should get into the cabin, then." Marie got up. "It'll be warmer there, but this plane's heating system is faulty. It'll get colder as we gain altitude, as well. So I suggest you all get your warmest items." She rummaged through her own luggage to find a large down coat and slipped it on, along with a pair of gloves.

"Why would they give us a plane with a faulty heating system?" Sarah asked begrudgingly, zipping up her thick quilted jacket.

"It was fixed, mostly, but the heat was directed more towards keeping the engine from freezing over. Call it a temporary patch. Planes are expensive, you know." Marie said, a touch of offense taken at the complaint. "We can't just buy a new one when a tiny thing goes wrong. And this was sort of short notice, this was the only one they had that wasn't destroyed. It was being worked on in the hanger while we were fighting Agran-"

"_The_ Agran?" Sarah was astonished. "As in the dragon Agran?" She'd read about him in the library back at Hellsing. Agran was a European menace that had supposedly been defeated by St. George. Apparently, he wasn't as dead as they'd thought. Dragons were indeed notoriously hard to kill. The only weak part of their body was the soft palate and their eyes, which meant one had to usually risk the loss of an arm to get a lance through to a dragon's brain.

"The very same. He's getting on in years, that's partly why he was so easy to take down, plus he was still recovering from his scuffle with St. George a few centuries ago. Dragons are hard to kill, you understand, but also slow to heal, so he was in hibernation in a volcanoe in the Ring of Fire. We had him cornered, but we woke him up after our initial attempt to destroy him in his sleep." She looked a bit annoyed. "Long story short, it was an utter disaster."

"How did you manage that?" Sarah asked as they maneuvered their way to the front of the plane.

"He was opening his mouth for another bite out of one of our planes and we threw in a sedative made of molten gold imbued with nightshade and iron. He was out for the count within a couple of minutes." She shrugged. "We are still working on acquiring a weapon strong enough to finally get rid of the bastard, but that's going to take another couple of years."

"I have to admit that sounds pretty damn awesome." Sarah said enviously.

"Oh, it was a mission that had its perks, but still we lost a lot of people on that endeavor, not to mention the valuable equipment that was destroyed." She shook her head sadly. "Anyway, this is our only survivor. Heating or no, we should be grateful we don't have to take a commercial airline."

Sarah chuckled. "Ah, that system is about as difficult to deal with as a dragon. Right, Pip?" She glanced over to find the former mercenary's hat was pulled down over his eyes and he was softly snoring. "Wow, he must have been exhausted."

"Well, he was up all night with me." Marie told her in a subdued voice. "We were plotting out our route and planning possible subroutes for the pilot. It wasn't very easy, especially since we have to avoid getting spotted by Air Traffic Control and border patrols. We also had to figure out a good place for a safe landing that was relatively close to our destination. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to cart all of this stuff more than a mile or so."

"Ammunition does get heavy after a while." Sarah agreed, having had some experience with that problem.

"Does it ever." Marie agreed with a tired glare in the general direction of the cargo hold. "I'm hoping we won't need it. The Tongue of Kali should be friendly to us, but one can never be too careful. Plus, we may run into some unsavory things on our way there."

"Such as?"

"Well, you know that the Yeti species is breeding this time of year, so they'll be particularly aggressive and territorial." She thought for a moment. "Of course, there'll also be a Meh-The and the Dzu to deal with, the Yeti's closest relatives. They sometimes interbreed, you know. The one I'd really want to watch out for is the Dzu. They're the biggest and baddest. Nasty pieces of work that even I wouldn't want to deal with if I didn't have a mini-gun with me." She visibly shuddered. "My cousin nearly got his head ripped off by a Dzu, once."

Sarah frowned. "That's terrible. Speaking of your cousin, though, I'd like to ask if the Ave Marie really are just one giant monster-hunting family."

Marie smiled wanly. "Yes and no. We have a tradition of adopting young men and women, one that was inspired by the generousity of our ancestor. So a great many of us are not blood relatives. We don't think of any of our adoptees as inferior, though. In fact, it's considered an honor." She said proudly. "I was adopted when I was three from an orphanage in Le Havre."

"That's nice." Sarah acknowledged. "I wish more people would adopt. There are so many children in the foster system that need love and attention." It was nice to be talking about something normal for once. Instead of monsters and fighting and wars, she could sit down and have a break from it, just for a few minutes. Sure, all of that stuff was exhilerating and she wouldn't trade her job for anything now, but every now and again one needed to take a break. She didn't know if she could ever be as casual as everyone else was about the existance of monsters and demons and secret organizations devoted to protected the world at large. Hell, even her own experience living as artificial monster had a nearly dream-like quality to it now that it was behind her.

They talked for a long time about several things. Slowly, her opinion of Marie started to change. Behind the facade of arrogance and cold objectivity, there was a person who actually did care. Marie wasn't raised in a set household, rather she was raised with a number of other children in a sort of 'it takes a village to raise a child' kind of way. She didn't really know the people who had technically adopted her, but had met them on occasion. There were a great deal of older or disabled agents who looked after the children, took them to school, and such daily things. Marie's training had started at the onset of her thirteenth birthday, as per tradition, and she was now a Yondan (a fourth degree of black belt) working her way up to Jodan (tenth degree black belt and highest rank of black belt in general), as well as currently working on becoming a sixth level Dan, which would graduate her to Shogo rank. Strangely enough, she wasn't that great of a shot with any gun, but many of the creatures she'd come up against wouldn't have been troubled by bullets. Mud monsters, for example. It's very hard to kill something that's made of a substance that can simply reform whatever has been blown apart. The trick to dealing with that sort of creature (golems, most of the time) was alchemy.

"So you're an alchemist?"

"Not really, no. I only know a few basic transmutation spells. Enough to get me by. If you want a real alchemist, then you should talk to my brother Haarith. He's a genius on the subject. He's the kind of person people think about when you say 'alchemist', the whole 'lead into gold' thing is child's play for him. Well, it's pretty simple to change any sort of mineral into gold if you ask him."

"What sort of limits are there on Alchemy?" Sarah inquired.

"Well, for one thing, we can change practically anything into any other thing, but we cannot say...turn a diamond into a chipmunk." She fumbled over how to explain it, starting and stopping herself, until she found a way that Sarah could understand. "Actually we could, really, yes. We could turn a diamond into a chipmunk, but it wouldn't be a live chipmunk. It would have blood, a body, a heart, a brain, but none of it would be working. We cannot imbue life into anything that did not have life already. Now, if we were to, I don't know...change algae into a chipmunk, then we could transfer the life over to the chipmunk because algae, while a non-sentient form of life, is still life. Plant to animal life exchange is entirely possible. Maybe even animal to human or plant to human, though no one's tried it."

Sarah snickered as the image of a giant daisy with a human face came to mind. "What else?" She asked, forcing herself to be serious.

"Well, we can't make something out of nothing. I'm not talking about turning air into a rock, because that's completely plausible. What I mean is that we cannot create matter. That's a basic rule you can learn in Science class. Matter cannot be destroyed or created, but it can be transformed into something of equal mass value 'The Law of Conservation of Mass' is at the core of Alchemy. Alchemists simply have more of an effect on the transformation process than others do." She explained, leaning back in her chair as she did so. "That being said, Alchemy requires a scientific mind, loads of math and Chemistry, and a lot of scratch paper on which scribble."

Sarah snorted. "Well, that leaves me out. I'm terrible at math. I don't know how I got through Calculus and Chemistry."

"That's just the simplified stuff." Marie shrugged. "There's loads more to it, a bunch of formulas that need to be memorized and words that need to be said." Sarah looked at her with shock. "Don't look at me that way. Words have a lot more power than most people think. Words, when correctly combined with numbers and geometric diagrams, can force a change in anything."

"Wow, sorry." Sarah rubbed at her temples. "That's a lot to take in."

"Yeah, that's why I said Haarith is a genius. It takes a genius or someone with a great deal of patience to become a real, honest-to-God Alchemist. Right now, the best kind of thing I can do is turn a leaf into a bit of bread or make solid stone turn into mud or vapor. That's kindergarten stuff to someone like my brother."

"Your brother-"

She smiled. "He's Indian. He's the reason I'm so interested in India. I practically idolized him when I was younger, so I threw myself into studying everything about his culture, everything that made him what and who he is. He is a few years older than me, he'll be thirty-two next fall, but we were raised in the same group. Actually, I have eight brothers and three sisters. In Ave Maria, there are usually about twelve or thirteen children per base. And we have nine bases located throughout France. My brothers, sisters, and I were the base 2 group. That means that our bedrooms were right next to each other, we were educated together, we ate together and we played together. We are very close as a result."

"I'd imagine. My family isn't very close, unfortunately. I have three brothers and a half-sister. What are the names of your brothers and sisters?"

"Elena, Chihori, Eun-Mei, Tai, Amaer, Mark, Mathew, Jason, Aaron, Haarith, and Abiel." Her eyes were soft as she recited their names. "Chihori is youngest. She'll be turning 26 soon. Elena and Eun-Mei are 27, Tai is the oldest, he's a month older than Haarith. Amaer is 27, Jason is 28 and a half, Aaron is 28 and a quarter. Mark and Mathew are 29, they're twins. Abiel and I are thirty, but he's older by four and a half months. His birthay's coming up on the thirteenth, as a matter of fact..."

"Big family, I don't think I could have handled that. I had enough trouble helping my father with my brothers!" She grinned. "Triplets." She said by way of explanation.

Marie nodded. "Base 6 had a set of twins and and a set of triplets. Ben and Jerry," She rolled her eyes when Sarah's grin widened."Yeah, I_ know_, but blame that on base 6's Head Mr. Allard. He has a weird sense of humor...anyway Ben and Jerry were the sweetest, no pun intended, little things around. But..hoo...Catalina, Christopher, and Kiara were little monsters. About once a year, all of the base kids get together for a party more or less like a family reunion. It's supposed to encourage family ties and whatnot, but how effective it really is depends on the kids. The date of the 'reunion' changes every year and that year it landed on my birthday. So it was going to be a birthday on top of all the other chaos and I don't know how the adults didn't anticipate it, but it was HELL. Catalina, Christopher, and Kiara somehow found my cake, ate all of it, leaving only a few smears of frosting and ten candles. When my base's Head, her name is Ms. Jung, came into the kitchen to bring it out, she bumped into Kiara, who was now sick from all of that cake, and she projectile vomited all over her best suit. Then Catalina, who was hyper as heck at that point, chased Ms. Jung's poor secretary Ms. Rose around the entire base shrieking "I'M A PRETTY PINK POSIE! YOU'RE A DORKY LITTLE ROSIE!" with a handful of worms. I think that poor woman still suffers from Scoleciphobia." She chuckled. "Meanwhile, Christopher had found my presents and had ripped them all open. When they caught him, he said he was doing a 'Present Inspection' and that none of the presents were good enough for me, so they should just give them all to him."

"What a little evil genius." Sarah remarked, laughing. "I'm glad my brothers never did anything quite so wild. Mostly, they were just very messy and climbed all over everything. Although, they did manage to upend a bus once. The school had let them onto the buses, but the bus driver was gone for a few minutes doing goodness knows what and that was enough time for the three of them to convince the children to run from side to side until the bus fell over. Pretty ingenius, but my father didn't see it that way. And no wonder, if the bus driver hadn't been blamed for negligence, then we would have had to foot the bill for the smashed windows, the dents, and the cracked windshield."

Marie was stunned speechless and it took her a second to recover. "Your family sounds very...lively."

Sarah laughed it off. "So does yours."

Marie smiled back at her. "You know, I apologize for the bad start we had. I'm not sure if we could be friends, but I would be glad to call you my partner in this mission."

Sarah grasped Marie's outstretched hand. "I'm sorry, too. Maybe, we can work on the friend part after this mission is over."

"I'd like that."

~H_E_L_L_S_I_N_G~

Alucard sat on the couch of his room casually sipping blood from a wine glass while he read the newspaper. It was the early evening, Sarah, Pip, and Marie had been gone for twelve hours. After the three of them had left, things got a little more quiet. Dimitri would alternate between visiting him, Alexander, and Walter, conveying news. It was necessary, since Alexander refused the company of Alucard and Seras (more or less so that he could keep his promise to Sarah about not fighting amongst themselves). Walter, on the other hand, was mostly busy giving Elazar private lessons. Private lessons in what, exactly, was not known, but presumably Walter was giving the boy a crash course in defense and weaponry. Elazar had already become a nice shot with a handgun a couple of months previous, but he was still far from an expert in anything. His only asset was the brute strength of his werewolf , their allies knew that there was a werewolf on their side, had been given a description of both Elazar's wolf form as well as his human one, and would hopefully not mistake him for an enemy.

Seras was busy on the phone. Being in charge meant a lot of work for her and he was glad to see that she was taking it in stride. He was proud, in his own way, of his creation. She'd had a rocky start, but he'd always known that she would turn out to be his equal. He'd sensed it, that darkness and inner strength, even while she was human. She was a glorious Draculina. Humans and artificial vampires would fail to see it, well 'see' wasn't exactly the word for it, but it was a distinct aura of power that any true No-Life Queen or King possessed. Since he'd created her, of course, there was always his mark. His 'stamp of approval', as it were. A trace of his auric power was there, on the edge like an aftertaste, and this possession was something he'd never had the pleasure of. Oh, yes, he'd made vampires in the past. Lucy Westenra and nearly Mina Murry, a man or two that he wanted to watch spread destruction... None of them had turned out right. They were all so inferior, so diminished in strength and none so grand as that seemingly fragile police girl who stood only a few feet in front of him.

His Master had no idea what possession of this sort meant to a vampire. A true Dracula or Draculina was not created, but born. They were so rare. He'd finally found one who could carry that trace of his power. The 'aftertaste' of his power would only last on a true equal to him, the auric power would fade on the others. Sometimes in as little time as a year, but no. Not for Seras. She would carry his power within her until the end. He still owned her through this connection. For once, he would be truly blessed with an equal. A personage worthy of being his mate, his counterpart until such a time as the Judgement came. Who knew, really. Perhaps even Hell would not part them. His teeth flashed. If he tried, the Devil would be very sorry indeed.

Seras, as yet, was not aware of this connection. She was not aware of how deep this ran. He'd been keeping it simple so far, the sex and so forth being just of a typical vampiric sinful sensual variety. A true union went beyond the physical, beyond the emotion, down to the primal beast within that was the very construct of their monsterous natures. When that was unleashed, and he certainly planned on unleashing it when he understood her to be ready for it, it would be a connection so powerful that it would make the simple mind-reading and shadow manipulation look like parlour tricks. They would be, in essence, one being. They would be able to reach out mentally and manipulate each other's bodies, they would not need to 'hear' each others thoughts. They would know each other completely. He was waiting, biding his time until he recognized the signs and then- he took a sip of his dink-..and then that sort of existence would be indescribable. Love? He was not a being of love. This transcended love.

"Mister Alucard," He laid the newspaper aside.

"Yes, Dimitri?" His voice came out as a low purr as a result of his pleasurable musings.

"The representative of the Masons has arrived. He is downstairs with the Deacon." Ah yes, he would have to get used to that. The ex-priest's new title. Such a shame really, but then again the guy had really needed to get laid. No wonder Anderson had such a short temper. He briefly wondered if Anderson's private bayonet was used as well as the ones he'd battled with. Smirking, he rose. "Of course, Seras!"

Seras gave a start. "Yes, Sir." She said into the phone one last time. "We're meeting with him now." Then her brow furrowed and she blinked in surprise. "She hung up on me." She said, sounding slightly hurt.

"Never mind that," He said sharply. "We have to go." They made their way downstairs to Alexander's room. A young man, around thirty something, stood beside Alexander. Walter was there as well and at his side was Elazar, who was looking a bit tired, but eager. The unknown had a serious, no-nonsense sort of face with a Roman nose and thin mouth. His hair was a brilliant red and curled tightly even though it was cut in a very short business-like manner.

"Hello. My name is J. R. Huffman and you must be _the_ Alucard that I've heard about even all the way back home. Your reputation preceeds you."

"And I've never heard of you. Your reputation does _not _preceed you."

"And that famous snark is as sharp as I've been told." J.R. said coolly. His accent was familiar, Alucard tried to place it. A Southern drawl, but not very pronounced and it had a hint of Northern inflexion. "I was informed by a Master that I would have to be on my toes around the legendary No-Life King. I don't think you'll find me a very easy nut to crack, Mr. Alucard."

"J.R. is from the West Virginia division of the Masonic Order, Alucard." Walter said. "He has come ahead of his compatriots by a few days."

"We've already given him an update on our plan of attack." Alexander's face was stony, his jaw set in a determined way. "Within a week, our army will be entirely situated in France with the exception of-"

"The Tongue of Kali, yes. That is quite an ambitious parley. Hermits, those people are. It has been a long time since they withdrew from the world, a century or more." He let that doubtful sentence hang in the air.

"We shall see. It's not a waste of effort if it turns out that they are willing." The Deacon motioned for their newest member to take a seat. "We are meeting with the Black Crows, Huffman. I think that is a more pressing issue. We've deduced that humans are not at the core of that particular society, but it has been created by demons."

J.R.'s thin lips curled up at the edges. "Ah and that is why I'm here, my friend. I bring news that may interest you." He found himself the center of attention. "I know who is at the head of that ship. A pair of names that you may recognize. Malphas and Bune. A stately pair, I must say. A Prince and Duke of Hell, respectively."

3043653606 Gabriel white GMC Envoy


End file.
